Bah Humbug
by Zanza Writer-for-Hire
Summary: College girl Blayde isn't too fond of Christmas. She can't go home, she hasn't mailed her cards and what's she supposed to buy every one? It'll take a miracle (or a lot of unusual acquaintances) to help her get into the spirit. (R for choice words)
1. Address me, please!

Bah Humbug  
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Author's Note: This is just my random insanity that I'm writing during free periods at school. It may or may not get finished before Christmas, depends on how I feel about it or what kind of reviews it gets.   
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Our story opens with a young woman sitting at a desk. Before her on the desk are stacks and stacks of cards and envelopes along with stamps, return address labels and an address book. Christmas music is playing in the back ground.   
  
"Let's see...This was where he was last time I tracked him down...I dunno if he's still there...Curse that Chimera!!! Can't he just accept the fact that he's doomed to look like that? How my s'posed to invite him to my party without an address? Grr...Stupid Slayers, no permanent addresses...Hmm...Xellos...Xellos..." She flips through the pages of the book, searching for the entry bearing the address for Wolfpack Island.   
  
"Hey, take a break, Blayde. You don't have to invite every one, you know." Reianna is behind her stringing lights on the Christmas tree. "Mellow out. Have some eggnog."   
  
"I want them all to come...I need to finish. I wish Zelgadis weren't so...so..."   
  
"Obsessive?"   
  
"No..."   
  
"Anti-social?"   
  
"No, now your confusing him with Wufei..."   
  
"Dumb?"   
  
"Maybe...He hasn't figured out just how much every one likes him how he is, so I guess you could say that..."   
  
"How many more do you have to do?"   
  
"Well...I've done Amelia's family and Zangulus, sent one to Lina's sister and to the Gabrievs, but neither Lina nor Gourry goes home on a regular basis so I don't know if they'll get them. Sylphiel and Filia both already RSVPed and they're coming. Filia's bringing little Val with her. But it's hard trying to track the rest down."   
  
"Boy, you shouldn't procrastinate so much...I sent my party invitations out a while ago. All the boys are coming, so are Hilde, Sally and Noin."   
  
"No Relena?"   
  
"Hell no! I didn't even invite her." Rei steps back to admire her work. The tree looks splendid, done up all in purple and red lights with silver tinsel and little star ornaments. "Who exactly are you still trying to mail them to besides Zelgadis and Xellos anyway?"   
  
"Well...Phibrizzo and Dolphin. Milgasia -nobody seems to care about him so I thought it'd be nice- and I wouldn't mind having Dynast. Then of course Xellos and Zel. Unfortunately, they're all really hard to contact because they don't stay put for very long. All this is giving me a headache..." Blayde lays her head on the desk, a chewed up pen in her hand.   
  
"Give it a rest then. Go out and get some shopping done. Finish later. Or better yet, I'll look for ways to find them for you."   
  
"Okay..." She stands up and stretches, "I have been here for five hours doing this...I could use some fresh air."   
  
Blayde goes and picks up her leather jacket from where it lay discarded on the bed. The dorm she and Reianna share is small and cluttered, but it's home. As college freshmen, they couldn't ask for much more and how they would cram all those people in for a party had never occurred to either girl.   
  
"Well, I'll be back in a while." Blayde wraps her scarf around her neck and heads out the door.   
  
Rei sits down at the desk. "This is insane. I still don't know how she met up with all them in the first place..." 


	2. A very gifted girl

It's kind of chilly out. Well, maybe not "kind of." It definitely is. And maybe not "chilly." The thermometer reads right around 2 degrees. Blayde wraps her black scarf tighter around her and runs her fingers through her short, dark blue hair. She shuffles out of the lobby of her dorm, nodding to Shalom on her way by. He looks up from his seat and waves as she pushes the door open.  
  
She heads down to the campus bus stop, wondering just what she's going to buy for any one. Her family was a lost cause -none of them ever knew what they wanted- she would probably get Rei a book and what of the Slayers? Should she get them all something? Or just the ones she was closest to?  
  
The bus roars to a stop in front of her and she climbs on. "Where ya headed today, Kid? Walmart again?" The same bus driver has the route everyday. He's well aware that Blayde goes virtually nowhere but the Walmart in town.   
  
She nods and sits down. Some kid from the other college in town sits across the aisle from her and he looks positively wasted. "Hey Babe," He leers at her, "Where ya headed? Wanna have a good time with a real man?"  
  
She wrinkles up her nose and ignores him. How typical. She'd learned to expect things like that; she knew from the start her school was located in the middle of a party town. There's a bar on almost every corner.  
  
The Walmart is insane. People are practically fighting one another for the best items. She weaves her way through the crowd, trying to think of what to get every one. Her family won't get whatever crap she's buying them until later on anyway, so what does it matter? She couldn't go home that Christmas. She had no way to get there.   
  
She finds a book for Rei. It's one of those weird, new-age things and she knows her roommate will like it. She thinks about what to get her mother and father. Nothing ever seems right.  
  
Absently, she picks over the CD selection. Jayce likes hard rock. But there isn't much of a selection. Nothing Jayce would ever consider listening to, only the shitty pop stuff no one liked. And Bart. What the hell was she supposed to buy Bart? He never liked anything she bought for him. Christmas is looking more and more crappy.  
  
She sighs. Nothing can be worse than trying to act happy when there was nothing to look forward to. Christmas was supposed to be that season where every one was nice and giving and caring. It sure as hell didn't look that way in the Walmart. What had happened to the warm feeling she used to get at the holiday time? She feels absolutely carnal. Christmas? It's all a humbug.  
  
"You look quite upset, Blayde."   
  
She nearly jumps a mile in the air when she hears his voice. What the hell is he doing in the Walmart? For that matter, what the hell is he doing in their plain? She turns to face him. "Xellos. What the fuck are you doing here?!" She demands.  
  
The purple-haired priest is grinning at her. He's shifted his appearance to look like any of the shoppers, his usual outfit is replaced by khakis and a black parka. A purple scarf is wrapped around his neck and a Santa hat's perched atop his glossy hair. "Temper, temper, My Friend. I was expecting my Christmas card. I didn't get one. That's not like you, Blayde."  
  
Frowning, she continues to glare at him. "What the hell do you care about Christmas, Xellos? It's a holiday of hope and joy. Those are not things I associate with you." She says loftily.  
  
His smile -if at all possible- grows wider. "Ah, we have a Scrooge on our hands, do we? I can enjoy Christmas. Do you know how many people absolutely abhor this time of year? Do you know how many negative feelings are flooding through this store right now? It tastes like fruitcake and candy canes."  
  
Blayde smiles in spite of herself. Only Xellos would find the misery of the holiday appealing. "I'm sorry, Xellos. I'm kind of bummed out because I can't go home. And I'm having the hardest time inviting you all to mine and Rei's Christmas shindig."  
  
"Ooo...A party? And I'm invited? Tis the season to be merry!" He laughs happily.  
  
"Want to help me finish my shopping? I need suggestions of what to get all your friends."  
  
"Now, of course you use the term 'friends' loosely."  
  
"Of course."   
  
The two fight their way through the crowd together and Xellos tells Blayde what to buy for each of the Slayers.   
  
As they are leaving the store, she thinks over all her purchases. There was tea for Filia, coffee for Zel. For Lina and Gourry she purchased those giant tins of popcorn. She got Amelia a bottle of her favorite shampoo (AN: If I recall correctly, Amelia is quite proud of her hair...). A bag of marbles seemed quite appropriate for the Hellmaster and an ice pick for Dynast. She bought Dolphin a bath sponge shaped like a whale. Sylphiel and Milgasia were harder to shop for. Xellos suggested an apron for Sylphiel and "any old piece of crap for that damn Dragon" to which idea Blayde promptly smacked the Demon priest soundly. She'd wound up putting the most thought into the Dragon's gift. She smiles as she thinks about it. Milgasia, she knows, is alone most of the time, very much like she is. When she's alone, Blayde likes to write about everything in her journal. She'd picked out a blue, leather-bound journal for Milgasia and she hoped he'd like it.  
  
Xellos rides the bus with her back to the campus then disappears. It's only when she's climbing the stairs to her room that she realizes she's forgotten about getting a gift for Zangulus. _Shit!_ She thinks as fumbles for her key, _now I'll have to go back out..._  



	3. Plans changed a bit

Blayde is not a happy camper. A week before Christmas -the day beofore winter break officially begins- Reianna's parents show up at the door of their dorm. 

"Surprise, Rei!" Her mother exclaims, "We managed to get up here. You get to go home!" 

Rei jumps up excitedly from where she'd been reading on her bed. "All right?" She says cheerfully. "Give me a few minutes to pack up and we can blow this popsicle stand!" She's a flurry of movement as she tosses clothing and books into her suitcase. 

Blayde sits at her desk, leaned back in the chair, watching all of this. Rei gets to go home. Rei gets a real Christmas. Rei's parents cared enough about her to find a way to take her home. It isn't fair. She sighs. Then a thought occurs to her. "Rei, what about the party?" 

Rei stops packing for a moment and looks at her roommate. "Hmm...Good question. I'm going to call the Gundam boys and the girls and tell them all to come to my house instead. You can do whatever you want, I guess." 

A silence fills the room as Blayde ponders over this. All her friends didn't know Rei's friends so it would probably be better this way. The Slayers might be happier to not have strangers around for the holidays. She shrugs and stares back at the screen of her laptop. The pink coloring of the wallpaper illuminates her face, casting strange shadows over her and contorting her features. 

"Look, I didn't want this to happen. I wanted to have the party." Rei says quietly, "But I'm going home and you'll have to make due." She pulls on her jacket as she says this, twines her navy blue scarf around her neck. 

"I didn't say anything." Blayde brushes her off, "Hope you have a Merry Christmas. I'll see you in January." 

"Right. Happy Holidays." With this, the family moves out the door and Blayde is left alone. 

She powers down the laptop and flops onto her bed. What a miserable holiday it will be; no one to hang out with, no one to talk to. She wonders if Randiriel is home yet. The other girl is nineteen and in her sophomre year at a school three hours away. Her family lives in the "party central" where Blayde's college is and the two are good friends. However, she doubts Randiriel will want to spend the holidays hanging around with a brooding, angsty misfit with no place to go. 

The phone rings, shattering the silence which has filled the room. Blayde reaches lazily over and fumbles for the receiver. The call is undoubtedly for Rei -she's far more popular than Blayde- and she has no real desire to answer it. "Hello?" 

The voice at the other end is unfamiliar. It's a rather pleasant voice that hesitantly asks for Blayde. 

"This is she. Who's calling?" She mutters. She's trying to sound cruel and distant; hoping to make some one as miserable as she feels. Her voice is like ice and, could she see him, she would have laughed at the expression on the poor boy's face. 

"I...I'm a friend of Rei's from her Latin class. My name is Suichi." His voice is soft and polite, still with that same edge of hesitation. "I wanted to know if you'd like to-" 

"If I'd like to go out with you? Forget it." She snaps. Then she drops the phone back in the craddle. No, her heart is far too mistrusting for dates. After the crap that bastard Sabre had pulled on her all her senior year of high school, she doesn't think she'll ever go out again. 

She lays there on the bed for a while, thinking over the transition she'd had with that boy. _What I did, _she tells herself,_ was very cruel. But I have reasons why I don't want to get involved with a guy. He could be as big of a son of a bitch as Sabre. For all I know, Rei could have paid him to ask me out because I'm alone all the time and I hate seeing her with Andrew. Then it would be nothing but a repeat of what that bastard did to me. No, _she finally decides,_ it's far better not to get involved._

__

She looks at the clock on the hightstand between the two beds. It's only nine-thirty, but she suddenly feels very tired, as if she can't keep her eyes open another second. She gets up and slides out of her blue jeans. Her favorite flannel pants are somewhere amid the blankets pilled on her bed and she roots around for them. She pulls them on, yanks off her socks and crawls under the covers. 

She flips on her CD player and -wonder of all wonders- her Bruce Springsteen CD is in there. She falls alseep listening to the strains of "Lonesome Day" and thinking to herself, _tomorrow will be quite the lonesome day..._


	4. The lonesome day

A fresh powder of snow coats the ground when Blayde wakes up. It flurried sometime during the night and frost has etched itself across the window. It's perfect Christmas weather. 

However, it's horrid weather for going shopping. And going shopping is exactly what Blayde must do. She still has some gifts to buy and she needs some food and maybe a decoration or two would be nice for what was left of the party. 

It looks like it's pretty cold out, so she dresses warmly in her favorite jeans and a black thermal shirt with a flannel button-down over it. She pulls a brush through her hair and looks at herself in the mirror hanging on the wall. 

"Hmmm..." She says aloud, "Time to recolor the hair. The blue is fading out again. Maybe I'll go purple this time." She glances down at the ceramic bowl she keeps her jewelry in. Her silver cross gleams up at her from its resting place, the brilliant morning sun reflecting off it. Her hand wanders by it and clutches another charm instead. She fiddles with the necklace, trying to work the catch, then gives up and leaves it on the nightstand. 

Next, she hunts for her wallet. It's burried somewhere among the piles of stuff littering her desk and she can never find it. It's pretty empty anyway; she does work study in the library and only works twice a week. She finally finds it and counts the bills inside. Thirty-seven dollars and twelve cents. Not much to buy the rest of her gifts and party food with, but it'll have to do until she can get to the bank. 

"Shit!" The bus is scheduled to come in five minutes. She rushes out the door, pulling on her coat and locking it as she goes. 

Down the hall she goes, passing the elevator and stampeding down the three flights of stairs. She flies out the door and past the single girl -who's probably waiting for her ride home- in the lobby. 

The bus is just pulling up as she reaches her destination. She skids to a stop and follows a couple other students on to the bus. She drops into her usual seat, exhausted after her sprint form the dorm. 

"Just made it, didn't you?" 

She looks up. A boy who looks vaguely familiar is seated across the ailse from her. His flamming red hair pools into his emerald eyes and he smiles a very reserved smile. He's a very cute guy and his smile and long, unruly hair make him look almost mischievous 

She blushes and nods. "It's been a lousy week and I over slept." 

He nods sympathetically. "I understand. Any one can be bummed out about not going home." 

"Yeah. That's mostly the problem." She pauses, "You look really familiar. Do I have a class with you?" 

His smile widens slightly. "Oh, no. But we spoke together last night, Blayde. I'm Suichi." 


	5. Magic

She is not expecting that and judging by his reaction to her, a very embarrassed look must have crossed her face.   
  
He laughs, "Don't feel bad. I understand why you did what you did. I hope you won't be mad, but Reianna told me about the 'bastard' when I expressed interest in you. She may have been a little foreward about it, but she was concerned I would be hurt when you emphatically turned me down. I am sorry if I should not have known about it."   
  
She sighes. "No. It's okay. I was horribly rude to you last night. I've never hung up on any one before. My life is crap right now and I didn't want to be misreable alone."   
  
His smile vanishes. "What's the matter?"   
  
"It's Christmas. I should be going home. I should be happy. My life should be meaningful. But it's not. Life isn't fair."   
  
"Nobody ever said life was fair, Blayde. We've all got a cross to bear. Make your Christmas a good one yourself."   
  
"And how, pray tell, do I do that?" She asks sarcastically.   
  
"Where are you going?" He questions her.   
  
She's a little taken aback by his abruptness. "Walmart. I never go anywhere but Walmart. I have some shopping to do. My friends are coming to over in a few days, and I need some food. Where are you headed?"   
  
"No where. Just out, I suppose. I have nothing better to do."   
  
"How come you're not going home?"   
  
He shrugs, "Mother couldn't come get me. Her car broke down."   
  
"Oh." She blinks, "So, do you want to go to Walmart with me?"   
  
A smile crosses his face. "Sure. If it won't bother you."  
  
She smiles for the first time in days. "Nah...It's not a problem. I'm really sorry about last night."  
  
By this time, the bus has pulled up in front of the Walmart. The two of them disembark together and head through the blistering cold towards the store.   
  
Suichi seems like a nice guy. He's the most polite being Blayde has ever met and she likes that about him.  
  
He catches her looking at him and she blushes. A reserved smile crosses his face.   
  
They buy a few things at the store; a bag of Doritios, popcorn, chocolate chip cookies. She also picks up a couple bottles of soda (none of which will she drink) and some ice cream. She figures if she leaves the ice cream on the ledge outside her window it will stay cold enough. Also, she picks out a gift for Zangulus.   
  
After paying for her purchases, she some how still has a five dollar bill in her hand. She shrugs, five bucks is five bucks, and slips it into her pocket.  
  
A little boy and his mother are stopped by the display near the checkouts. It houses numerous toys of various price ranges and the boy seems to want only one in particular. He's pointing at a little metal race car and crying loudly, blubbering about how "I wan' that an' it ain't fair that Santa can't bring it!! _M a good boy!!" The mother, dressed in a shabby overcoat, sighs. "Santa can't bring you that." She says wearily, "He's got too many other boys and girls to visit and can't come to our house this year."  
  
Blayde frowns. She can tell that the woman doesn't want to dispell the myth of Santa Claus while the boy is so young, but she likely can't afford to buy the car for her son. Blayde then thinks about the five dollars in her pocket. She pulls the bill out and looks at it.   
  
The boy is bawling now. "What d'ya mean, Santa ain't coming?! How can it be Christmas without Santa?!" His mother looks helpless.   
  
Suichi blinks his emerald eyes. He kneels down before the distraught child, that knowing smile on his face. "It is still Christmas without Santa Claus." He says softly, "The spirit of Christmas is in your heart all the time. You just have to want it."  
  
While Suichi speaks with the child, Blayde approaches his mother. "Here." She presses the five into the woman's hand and saunters out of the store. The ice in her heart is melting a little and it's almost as if the magic is returning. Almost.   
  
  



	6. If God would send his angels

There's a foot or two of snow on the ground the next morning and, rather than go out, Blayde curls up under her blankets. It's the kind of day where no one wants to do anything and she has nothing to do anyway. So she turns on the radio and pulls the afghan over her head. Her stuffed dog is nowhere to be found, so she gropes on the floor for it. Then she drifts off into a light sleep. 

An hour or so later, she's woken up by a cheerful voice. "Blayde? Blayde, I know you're in there...Come on out, you don't want to hibernate through Christmas, do you?" 

"...Mehhh..." She grumbles, "...Xellos....Go away!" 

He pulls the blanket back slightly. "Now, now, Blayde, temper...I came to tell you something both very disappointing and important. 

"What?" 

"In light of the snow, I'm afraid no one will be attending your party." 

"WHAT?!" 

"The only one's who could possibly get here are myself, Dynast, Dolphin and Phibrizzo. Phibrizzo refuses to come because of the temperature, Dynast is just an antisocial weirdo anyway, Dolphin because she'd freeze and I'm afraid it won't be much of a party if it's just me and you." 

"Oh, it figures." The girl burrows back down into the blankets, "Could this Christmas get any more miserable?" 

"I'm sure it could." Xellos' voice is good-natured as he responds, "That boy who likes you-" 

"Suichi." 

" -Could be a psycho killer." 

"Shut up, Xellos." 

"Do you know what he is?" 

"Yeah. A very polite college student who's majoring in Mythology." 

"Besides that..." 

"No...Wait, let me guess. He's a mental patient?" 

"No." 

"A kleptomaniac?" 

"Nope." 

"A pervert?"  


"No." 

What then?!" 

"He's not quite human....You know, he's got a human body, but he's really a Kitsune." 

"He's a WHAT?" 

"A spirit fox, a demon of sorts, from the Spirit World. He goes by a couple other names too, Yoko -that's his original name- but he's also been called Kurama." 

"Why should I believe that? You tell lies all the time." 

"Fine. Think what you wish. I've got to go. Zelas does have things for me to do, after all. No holiday break for me, you know." He disappears from the room, leaving Blayde to ponder over what he's said. 

"A spirit...Nonesense! Xellos is just trying to get on my nerves." She grumbles. She gets out of bed and looks in her mirror. "God, I'm pathetic. It's four days before Christmas, I have no one to spend the holidays with and what the hell am I supposed to do with all this crap?" 

The wrapped Christmas presents are sitting on her desk, waiting to be put under the small tree. She glances at them, pilled up there, then thinks about the boy and his mother that she'd given the five dollars to. There must be other people like them, people who have nothing. 

Making up her mind, she decides to venture out. There is a small church not too far away. She doesn't know what denomination it is, but it's a church nonetheless and it must have some kind of help-the-needy program. 

She pulls on a pair of black corduroy pants and a white, long-sleeved tee-shirt bearing the mascot of her high school. Then she runs her brush through her hair and puts on her watch. The presents are shoved into a shopping bag and she pulls on her boots. Her coat, hat and scarf soon follow, then she heads out the door. 

It's a long trek to the church, The Church of the Martyrs, but it doesn't seem to be such a great distance. The thought that she's helping some one worse off than she makes all the difference between it being a stupid, pointless trip and something she knows she must do. 

She leaves the bag on the steps of the church -no one appears to be there- with a note attached to it, then heads back for the campus. On the way, she notices a tall, lanky boy following her. He looks to be about fifteen or sixteen, maybe, with dark brown hair falling in his eyes. The deep red of his shirt cantrasts with the bright white snow and he follows along in her very footsteps. 

Now, maybe she would not have noticed him, were it not for the large wings growing out of his shoulders. It's not unusual to see a boy walking down the sidewalk. Not unusual, that is, until you see a boy with wings. 

_Am I hallucinating?_ She asks herself. _Is the cold getting to me, or is there really an angel following me? Am I really dying of frostbite or hypothermia right now? What the hell is going on? _

She stops and sits down on a snow-covered bench, her head in her hands, tears trickling down her face. "I'm so fucked up..." She sobs, "Now I'm seeing things. What the hell is wrong with me?" 

The boy stops in front of her. "Blade, God is pleased by what you did." 

"Are you real?" She whisperes, "Are you there? Am I insane?" 

He smiles kindly and rests a hand on her shoulder. She looks up. Never in her life has she seen anything more glorious or beautiful than the angel. A soft glow illuminates him as he stands in the snow and a circlet of gold shines round his head. 

"Blade, come with me." His voice is peaceful. Serene. The exact opposite of how she feels. Everything she is not. His hand is still on her shoulder and she feels herself being lifted into the air. 

The next thing she knows, they are in a dingy appartment. Sitting on the floor is the small boy from the Walmart. He's looking at the scraggly Christmas Tree in the corner, which has only a few ornaments on it. It doesn't seem to bother him that the tree is so shabby; he's staring at the one gift, wrapped in newspaper, that sits under it. His face is lit with anticipation, his eyes glow as he beholds his present. 

"Do you know what's wrapped in that newspaper?" The angel asks her. 

"The race car?" 

"Besides that." 

She looks at him, perplexed. There is a car in there and she knows it. The mother couldn't have possibly bought anything else with that five dollars. 

"You gave that boy the gift of kindness. You were a candle burning in the darkness for him and a sign of hope for his mother. There would have been no Christmas at this house, were it not for you. Right now, his mother is on her way to the Church of the Martyrs. She goes there every year at this time, hoping some one would be kind enough to donate things to the less fortunate. You have given her the things she needs. You saved her Christmas and her belief that God will help her." 

A lump is forming in Blayde's throat. "That...that little boy would have no Christmas if it weren't for me?" She whispers. 

"Yes. He would have nothing if you did not give all those things to the church." 

Fresh tears begin to fall. Tears that show no signs of stopping as the angel whisks her back to her dorm. She is all at once on her bed but she doesn't know how, nor does she care. She's sobbing uncontrollably, her chest heaving, her breath coming in gasps. 

The angel knows she needs to cry alone. He shimmers away, but not before saying "May God continue to shine on you" and blessing her over the heart. 


	7. A thrill of Hope

It's Christmas Eve. Blayde's sitting all alone in her dorm, watching Christmas Vacation on her small TV. She's leaned back against the wall, wearing blue sweat pants, with nothing on her feet. A bag of Doritos is on the floor and a can of peach tea is set haphazardly on the night stand.  
  
"What a waste." She mutters out loud, "It's Christmas Eve and I have nothing to look forward to tomorrow. I hope every one else at least is happy."  
  
She flips the TV off and stretches. "I may as well get some work done. I've got nothing better to do. Let's see...I could work on the one with the dragon in it..." She sits down at her desk and pulls out a notebook full of stories and notes scrawled in the margines. Then she switches on her laptop and waits for it to boot up.  
  
She's lost in the fantasy land she created when some one knocks on the door. "Hmm...? What? Oh, just a minute!" She closes the lap top and stands up.  
  
Standing in the hall is Suichi. "Hello." He says plesantly, "I thought you might like a little company."  
  
"Oh, sure, come on in." She holds the door open for him.  
  
They stand there looking at one another for a moment and she thinks about what Xellos had said. _He's not quite human....You know, he's got a human body, but he's really a Kitsune...A spirit fox, a demon of sorts, from the Spirit World_...Could it be true?  
  
"Can...can I ask you something?" She stammers.  
  
He looks intrigued. "Sure. What?"  
  
"Are you...I mean, Xellos said...You're not...Are you human?" She blurts out.  
  
He blinks his emerald eyes. Looks at her for a moment.  
  
"I...I mean, Xellos says you're a demon and I know it sounds funny but I had to ask."  
  
"Xellos? The Mazoku Priest?"  
  
"Yeah...You know him?"  
  
"I know of him. What he told you, I'm afraid, is very much the truth."  
  
"You aren't human?"  
  
"Well, not really, no. I have a human body, but I'm really a Kitsune."  
  
"So, what are you doing here then?"  
"Mother wanted me to get an education. I was reborn to a human mother when I fled the Spirit World and I've become somewhat attached to her."  
  
"Oh. Okay." She can deal with that. Half of the Slayers aren't human either. "So, what do you want to do?"   
  
"Are you hungry, Blayde?"  
  
"Hungry? I'm starving." Now that he mentions it, she realizes that she hasn't eaten all day.  
  
"Let's go down to the diner."  
  
"All right."   
  
The two venture out and down to the diner near the Walmart. It's a nice place and a lot of the kids from their school go there to eat and hang out.  
  
It's around eight o'clock when they leave. Blayde feels almost happy, but something is missing. Then she hears the bells of the Church of Martyrs ringing, drawing in the faithful.  
  
"Suichi, will you come to church with me? I don't want to go alone."  
  
"Okay." He is so agreeable. Anything is fine by him.  
  
He watches Blayde during mass. She seems at peace for the first time since he met her. She's sitting in the pew, her head bowwed, her hands folded in her lap. She looks very at ease, but he notices something. She's crying.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asks as they're leaving. Her face is red and she looks pretty miserable.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." She wipes her eyes, "I haven't been to church in so long...I shouldn't have gone. I lost the belief a long time ago. There was nothing for me there."  
  
"Mommy, there's the angel!" They hear from behind them.  
  
Blayde turns, half expecting to see the winged boy behind her. However, the owner of the voice -the poor little boy- is pointing at her.  
  
Suichi smiles to himself as Blayde looks disbelievingly at the boy. "I...I'm no angel, Kid." She stammers.  
  
"Oh, but Mommy says you must be. You saved Christmas for us." The child smiles radiantly up at her, his wide blue eyes shining with happiness, "Only an angel could do that."  
  
"I'm not an angel." She insists.  
  
Suichi looks at the boy. "i'll tell you a secret. I believe there are angels among us, sent down to us, from somewhere up above. The angels, they come to you and me in our darkest hour. They show us how to live; they teach us how to give. Don't believe her. She is an angel in disguise."  
  
"I knew it!"  
  
"Suichi..." She blushes, "Let's go."  
  
As they walk away through the clear night, their breath coming out in little puffs, Blayde looks up at the star-sown sky. A song drifts through her head. _Oh Holy night, the stars are brightly shining..._  
  
She looks at Suichi. "Thanks." She says.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Giving me hope."  
  
"You're welcome then."  
  
She smiles and he puts an arm around her. It seems that the world is a little brighter and her heart doesn't feel so weighed down.  
_  
Fall on your knees, oh hear the angels voices...A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices..._  
  
"Merry Christmas, Blayde." His placid voice breaks trhough the chilled air.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Suichi."  
_  
...The weary world rejoices..._  
  
*~*~***_FIN_***~*~*  



End file.
